Some of Our Favorite Discounts

The New Year is a time for reflection and goal setting, but sometimes our resolutions can be at odds with each other. This year I want to try new things, be healthier, and save money. With that in mind, here are some of the amazing discounts that UW faculty and staff can receive. I’ve organized them around five of The Whole U’s topic areas so you can get to know us at the same time you’re scoping out some deals.

Staying Healthy

“Staying healthy” includes mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. UW CareLink provides easy access to experts who can help you meet your goals. Did you know that a financial advisor will meet with you by phone and provide a 30 minute consultation for free? They will discuss whatever area of your finances you’d like, such as saving for college, budgeting, or retirement planning. Or you can speak with a lawyer, by phone or in-person, about topics such as estate planning, real estate, consumer credit services, IRS issues, or family services. These services don’t just get your ducks in a row financially or legally–they also provide peace of mind.

And you have access to free confidential counseling. UW CareLink offers in-person assessment and short-term counseling by a local professional. You’re entitled to five sessions per concern. (Common areas of concern include stress, work problems, relationship issues, grief, and depression.) You may receive a referral and additional resources after in-person counseling. UW CareLink services are available for benefits-eligible faculty and staff, their dependents, and household members.

Being Active

Variety is the spice of life, so why not try something totally new? Skymania Trampolines in Kirkland is offering a 15% discount to let your inner-child out and bounce around. Mini Mountain, a skiing and snowboarding school in Bellevue, offers a 10% discount on all indoor lessons, snow lessons, rock climbing summer camps, shop work, and rentals. Or why not try something right on campus? UW IMA Canoe and Row Boat Rentals is offering a 22% discount!

Eating Well

I keep eating at the same few places over and over, so I’m resolving to try out one of the many restaurants now offering 10% off to faculty and staff. Arayas Vegetarian Place, which is a Thai vegan restaurant, has a lunch buffet with unlimited spring rolls. I’ll let that sink in. Or, try Taste of India because they have four stars on Yelp with over 600 reviews. Pineapple Café, inside the Watertown Hotel, advertises good options for when you’re in a hurry: “enjoy a wonderful selection of breakfast items: breads from famed Macrina Bakery, Steel Cut Oatmeal, breakfast burritos, egg sandwiches and more. Then for a quick, yummy lunch they offer homemade soups, sandwiches and wraps. And all day long you’ll find the essential grab-n-go goodies: chips, fruit, gourmet popcorn, smoothies, health bars and more. ” And the Thaiger Room will let you order online for pickup or delivery!

Life Events & Change

Change is a little less stressful if things are a little bit cheaper. On Call Nanny Service offers 25% off their enrollment fee. Or if you just don’t have enough hours in the day, try Valet Dry Cleaning because they’ll come right to your door and give you 10% off your first year of service. And if you really need to get away, or your life event means you finally have time to travel, consider that the Lazy River Vineyard in Yamhill, Oregon offers a 15% discount.

These are just a few of the 80 discounts currently being offered to UW faculty and staff, and we’ll be adding new offers all the time. And even though I highlighted ways to be active, I didn’t even touch upon our Fitness Network, which includes 11 facilities in 28 locations. From gyms to yoga, CrossFit to rock climbing, browse our discounts page to find your perfect option.

Hi there,
We have followed up with the owner of Skymania and all staff now know about the 15% discount. Yeah! She also encouraged you to come back and get a refund for the difference. Thanks so much for letting us know.

There is nothing specific on the Husky Athletics web page that you linked to about a 20% discount for staff. Does that mean that if I show up at the HecEd ticket window and show my staff ID, I get 20% off? It would be really helpful if this were codified on a webpage somewhere, because I’ve never heard of that discount. I have heard of the discount for Football season tickets, and in the past I have occasionally seen notice of the Faculty/Staff free admission to various events such as gymnastics and volleyball. It would be great if all of these programs were written up in one place. I find the GoHuskies.com page to be not very useful for this kind of information.

Hi Rob, great points and your comment will definitely help me to be clearer in the future. Information about faculty and staff discounts is under the FAQs on the Husky Athletics web page. Here’s what it says:

I am UW Faculty/Staff, do I get a discount?
Eligible UW Faculty/Staff may purchase up to two (2) Football and Basketball season tickets at the Faculty/Staff discount of 20%. If additional season tickets (more than two) are desired, they will be subject to the full public season ticket price. In order to verify your status, the Husky Ticket Office will annually audit those Faculty/Staff receiving the discount.

Qualifications for the Faculty/Staff discount are:

-Employed through the UW (Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma campuses) and working 50% or more of a FTE or
-Retired through the UW system or
-Be the surviving spouse of a UW employee or retiree as per the qualifications above

I called the Athletic Office to find out the best way to redeem this discount, and they said to call the ticket office (206-543-2200) with your ID number. I also asked about free admission to other events and they told me that they email those out because they become available due to demand.

Hope this helps! I’ll work on making this clearer on our Discount page as well.

Howdy! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I genuinely enjoy reading through your posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same topics? Thank you!